Pat Fitzgerald has had an eventful first three months on the job. From building a staff to signing his first class to winning his first major recruiting battles to operating the portal, Fitz hasn’t even had a second to stop and take a breath.
If you were to ask him how he’s dealt with the hustle and bustle of the past few months, he would tell you that it’s just part of the job and he’s used to it.
That’s actually exactly what he said in an interview this week with WLNS. He also answered a question about Indiana’s national title and his response should have Spartan fans fist-pumping in agreement.
In an interview with Ian Kress of WLNS, Fitzgerald was asked about Curt Cignetti and Indiana’s rapid rise, and if that kind of set the bar way too high for new coaches or if it was a reasonable expectation.
His answer was perfect.
”We’ve got incredible support here. We’ve got an unbelievable infrastructure… If we put our process in the right order, we do the things that we believe in, then absolutely. If they can do it, why can’t we?”
Fitzgerald went on to say that he feels really strongly about the plan that’s in place and he is a firm believer that Michigan State is a program that can compete at the highest level. He’s bringing the right attitude with him to East Lansing after the past two seasons of vanilla football. That’s not a knock on Jonathan Smith as much as it was the entire program. There just wasn’t support there.
Hearing that Fitzgerald sees a ton of support and an incredible infrastructure in place is nice. The donors, Fitzgerald, and J Batt all seem to be on the same page. When everyone’s on the same page, things can start rolling in the right direction.
Mark Dantonio did it and Mel Tucker started to do it, so why can’t Fitzgerald? He’s well-versed in Big Ten football, he’s bringing that culture of toughness back, and he has Dantonio at his disposal as a mentor. And now he has donor and university support? I like his chances to succeed in East Lansing.